Origin Buys Upscale Community in Atlanta

The apartment community is located in Atlanta's busy Poncey-Highland neighborhood and features 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The company plans to add more units and an office, on the adjacent land parcel.

Origin Investments acquired a luxury apartment community and an adjacent land parcel, situated in Atlanta’s Poncey-Highland submarket with the help of a Cushman & Wakefield team. Abraham Properties was the seller, having completed development last year. Earlier this year, Origin was involved in another acquisition, a 448-unit apartment community in suburban Chicago.

The 125-unit building is located at 675 North Highland Ave. N.E., in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood. It features a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, each averaging over 1,000 square feet. Currently, the building is 96 percent leased. The ground-floor is dedicated retail space, measuring more than 20,000 square feet, with current occupancy at 82 percent. Tenants include CO Sushi and Noodles, Ganek, and Vita-Flo, with Origin engaged to bring occupancy to 100 percent. Common amenities available to residents include a fitness center, clubhouse, swimming pool deck with a bocce court, fire pits and grilling stations.

Plans for phase two

Origin stated that a second development phase is planned to start in December. The company will add 39 more units to the property, averaging 630 square feet each. “We are excited to build on the success further by developing a second phase that will share the high-end amenity offerings but will offer substantially smaller average unit sizes, which will satisfy the needs of an expanded renter profile,” said David Welk, managing director of acquisitions at Origin Investments, in a prepared statement. The company will also create 9,400 square feet of office space, stating there is strong demand for such spaces in the submarket.

Origin has brought on JM Wilkerson as general contractor and Brock Hudgins as project architect for the new building, with construction slated for completion in 2018. Stream Realty will oversee the commercial component, while CF Real Estate Services will lease and manage the residential one. “We are excited to partner with Origin on another project and we are thrilled to expand our management services to such a high-profile asset in a superb location,” said Sharon Hatfield, president of property management operations at CF Real Estate, in a prepared statement.